Portrait of Eternity
by Melanie Geller
Summary: She has all the time in the world. He has none. When their paths collide, the results will change their lives, and the course of history itself, forever. RR, MC. Please read and review! :)


A/N: Okay, I'm going to warn everyone right here and right now. This story is weird. It's probably beyond weird, in fact! If you don't like weird fantasy-ish sci-fi-ish stuff, you might want to stop right here. :) That being said, I hope some people still read it despite its weirdness. I sort of took the idea from the book Tuck Everlasting, not the movie. (I haven't seen the movie and don't know if its the same thing.) Its not really all the same storyline, but if you are familiar with it, you may notice some similarities. This is really different than my last story, which, by the way, the FINALE should be up soon! :) Anyways, I hope you all are having happy holidays and have a great new year. Please tell me what you think. :) It is going to be good, though. At least I think so. J   
  
Disclaimer: Don't em. Never have. Never will. Don't own the idea from the book but some stuff in this story is mine! *mwah ha ha!* ;)  
  
Portrait of Eternity...  
  
It is amazing how much a person notices the little details in life once they take the time to sit down and see what their surroundings hold.  
  
The way the wind ripples through the leaves on a tree. Sounds crickets make at dusk. Even the way each droplet of dew on a leaf has its own shape and distinct pattern.  
  
Nearly every single human being takes these aspects of life for granted. Amidst their busy schedules, there were just not enough hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the month, and months in the year to admire the smaller aspects of life.  
  
Yet there was one woman who did have time for such luxuries. She had all the time in the world, and all the time in the world had her.  
  
Her features were quite striking. Her long hair was the color of honey and the texture of silk. Her blue eyes possessed a strange combination of wisdom and innocence.  
  
There she sat, in the middle of Central Park, staring at her reflection in the pond. For a split second, the water in the pond seemed to contain more depth than it actually had.   
  
In that split second, the water rippled and the wind blew. Her reflection, once the picture of perfect youth, changed to the wrinkled face like that of an old woman.   
  
Her true reflection.   
  
A gasp escaped her throat, as she was not accustomed to seeing her reflection in that state. Her hand flew to her face, feeling her now creamy complexion. No one would have ever guessed that this young woman has been alive longer than anyone would know.   
  
She let out a small sigh, wondering why her life was unfolding, or rather, not unfolding, in this pattern.  
  
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Ross Geller drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and glanced at his watch. Time was moving much to fast, and traffic was crawling along far too slowly.  
  
There was so much to do, and virtually no time at all to do it in.  
  
He thought his life would be so much easier if he just had more time. Everything that needed to be done could be done, and maybe he would actually have a spare moment to sit down and reflect on his life.  
  
But then again, he could find plenty to do with his infinite amount of time.   
  
Who couldn't?  
  
He tapped his foot down on the gas impatiently, willing traffic to move. He looked at his watch again. Twenty minutes until his next meeting, and he was over thirty minutes away.   
  
"Darn it! I need more time!" He looked around him at all the other impatient faces in the cars. The looked agitated at the fact that time was flying too fast. He let out an irritated sigh. "But then again, who doesn't?"  
  
At that precise moment, he caught a glimpse of a perplexing image. A beautiful young woman sat in the middle of Central Park, just tracing the patterns of the water with her finger.  
  
She looked so at ease, yet troubled in a sense. "Now she looks like she has all the time in the world," Ross muttered.  
  
If he only knew...  
  
He began to think to himself how nice it would be not to have to worry about what he had to do and the time slot he was allotted to do it in.   
  
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted? That would be the life, he decided.   
  
A life of never-ending time...  
  
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Rain began to fall in small, wet, droplets, disturbing the tranquility of the pond.   
  
She sighed. It was time to get up. Even she had no idea how long she remained at the scene. For time didn't matter. The time she sat at the pond could have ranged from an hour to a week and she wouldn't have known the difference.   
  
After awhile, she stopped counting how old she was. It didn't matter, anyways. She had cut off all ties to her old friends and lovers. Most were dead anyway.  
  
"Dead like I should be," she whispered bitterly.  
  
Life for this young woman would never advance to a higher level. One stupid mistake and irrational decision she had made almost two hundred years ago had tainted her life and dreams forever. Due to this choice, she wasn't able to stay in one place for longer than a few years or else people would get suspicious as to why she never seemed to get older.  
  
Because of this she never allowed herself to love.   
  
Because of this she would live forever.  
  
Because of this her life would never expand and grow.  
  
Because of one selfish choice. One choice, one decision. And one ruined life.   
  
Eternity. Not much sense can be made out of this word. It is hard to put an image to, as no one has ever experienced it firsthand.   
  
Except her. Slowly but surely, her life was turning into a portrait of eternity...  
  
TBC?  
  
So...what do you think? Click the little review button and tell me! :)   
  
Love at First Sight finale coming soon.   
  
I'm also working on two new stories now, a Monica and Chandler one that I can tell right now from what I have is going to be fun to write. (I never knew I could enjoy writing Mondler. Huh. They're fun...:)) And another R/R one that isn't supernatural or anything. It's normal, and fairly lighthearted. :) I don't know when I'll post any of these. I promised myself I would never work on more than one story at once, but right now I got four. Funny how that works out. :)  
  
Anyways, I hope everyone has a happy (and SAFE!) New Year. 2004! Yay! Party! And all you people over 21, have a drink for me. I can't drink for another 7 years or so. :( Oh well. Not like I enjoy it anyways. Oops, I'm rambling on now. I have a tendency to do that. I wonder if anyone is actually reading this. I'm just thinking how weird it would be to just type this now and then have no one read it. Odd...Lol, I'm going to bed now and I hope you all enjoyed chapter one. :)  
  
Mel 


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